{"id":150,"date":"2010-09-13T10:35:44","date_gmt":"2010-09-13T08:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/2010\/09\/13\/hugging-a-statue\/"},"modified":"2014-06-30T08:24:41","modified_gmt":"2014-06-30T07:24:41","slug":"hugging-a-statue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/2010\/09\/13\/hugging-a-statue\/","title":{"rendered":"Hugging a Statue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, I hugged a statue!\u00a0 Happily hugged it, but with tears in my eyes.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 It actually is a very long story, so I will try to shorten it for this blog.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Statue is of Sir Nicholas Winton, an Englishman. \u00a0<\/span>Telling the story backwards might help understand why I wanted to know more about him.<\/span><\/p>\n

I read in a newspaper, the name of which I no longer remember, about a group of people making a trip in 2009, from Prague to London.\u00a0 It was to be in tribute to Winton.\u00a0 Who were these people and why was it making the news?<\/span><\/p>\n

The people making the journey were the direct descendants of the Jewish children known as Winton’s Children.\u009d\u00a0 Sir Winton saved 699 mainly Jewish children on this same route in 1939.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Winton<\/a><\/p>\n

Why would a twenty-nine year old Englishman organize such a brave act during WW2?\u00a0 That is the question that I asked.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

First off, he was a Christian British stockbroker of German Jewish descent.\u00a0 As a humanitarian he was aware of the official Kindertransports being organized in other countries and found out none were organized in the then Czechoslovakia.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

On the way to Switzerland for a skiing trip Winton stopped in Prague to visit a friend who was involved in Jewish refugee work.\u00a0 He never took the ski trip, instead he decided to stay in Prague.\u00a0 He wanted to help save the children.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first thing Winton had to do was organize foster homes in England which was difficult as England was already receiving many refugees.\u00a0 He had to organize trains.\u00a0 He had to find money.\u00a0 He had to carefully plan to ensure everyone’s safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost all the children left before the war broke out and it was with great relief that they made it through to London and their host parents.\u00a0 That is. . . they all made it but one train; it was stopped as the war had started and the children were taken to concentration camps.\u00a0 Sir Winton says it still haunts him to this day that those children did not make it to safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

So why in 2009 did a tribute train make the same trip?\u00a0 It is a very heart warming story.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following is from Wikipedia:\u00a0 Winton kept his humanitarian exploits under wraps for many years until his wife Greta found a detailed scrapbook in the attic in 1988. The scrapbook contained lists of the children, including their parents’ names, and the names and addresses of the families that took them in. After sending letters to these addresses, 80 of “Winton’s children” were found living in Britain.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The world found out about Winton’s work in 1988 on a television programme titled That’s Life! when Winton was invited to be an audience member. At one point during the programme Winton’s scrapbook was shown, and his achievements explained. The host of the programme then asked if there was anyone in the audience who owed their lives to Winton and if so to stand — at which point over 2 dozen audience members surrounding Winton rose and applauded.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

That event brought forth the desire to make the same journey as a tribute to Sir Winton and became the focus of an awareness project known as ‘Inspiration through Goodness’, organized by the Czech government.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

In 2009 an original locomotive from the 1930’s left the Prague Main train station.\u00a0 On board were some of the original children, their grandchildren and 101 year old Sir Winton!\u00a0 It was an emotional trip taken in gratitude and love for the man who cared enough to save them.\u00a0 If it were not for him their children and all their future children would never be born.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/a><\/p>\n

We read that a statue was placed in the Prague Main station so we went to find it.\u00a0 It was not an easy statue to find.\u00a0 We almost gave up.\u00a0 Because there is now a modern train station we did not realize the tracks for trains still leave the original old station.<\/span><\/p>\n

We could not find it for some time, when I suddenly saw it, standing on Platform B.\u00a0 Sir Winton and his children getting ready to leave!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Karin<\/a><\/p>\n

I could not help m<\/span>yself. . . I saw him, and I had to put my arms around him and give him a big hug!\u00a0 It is life size, he was not much taller than me but he is a HUGE hero to many and will never be forgotten.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h5>\n
Technorati Tags: Winton,kinderstransport,trains,WW ll,Jewish<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, I hugged a statue!\u00a0 Happily hugged it, but with tears in my eyes.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 It actually is a very long story, so I will try to shorten it for this blog. The Statue is of Sir Nicholas Winton, an … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[9,13],"tags":[187,185,108,184,186],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2MK34-2q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":389,"url":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/2011\/11\/05\/national-museum-and-wilson-revisited\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":0},"title":"National Museum and Wilson Revisited","author":"Michael","date":"November 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"O.K. Shoot me, I am negligently late in updating the previous post Re-dedication of Wilson station\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We are just having too much fun going places to stay home and focus on blog presentation.\u00a0 Oh Yes, I also have work to do hosting villas and workshops on Paros.\u00a0 See my latest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/WoodrowWilson-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":364,"url":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/2011\/09\/24\/re-dedication-of-wilson-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":1},"title":"Re-dedication of Wilson station","author":"Michael","date":"September 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The American Friends of the Czech Republic have worked long and hard, and raised a lot of money, to rebuild (not restore) the Wilson Monument at Prague's central train station.\u00a0 They are celebrating in style between 4 and 7 October including a $250 per plate dedication dinner. We will only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":243,"url":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/2010\/11\/30\/a-bit-of-this-a-bit-of-that\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":2},"title":"A bit of this, a bit of that . . .","author":"Karin","date":"November 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We are travelling to see family and our blog has suffered the consequences.\u00a0 I seem to have time to read other people's blogs, but haven't organized myself enough to sit down and write on ours.\u00a0 So, if you are still out there, waiting, I hope you enjoy some random things\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Cerny\"","block_context":{"text":"Cerny","link":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/tag\/cerny\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Cleaning-the-Metro-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1105,"url":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/2013\/12\/24\/a-bit-of-italy\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":3},"title":"A Bit of Italy","author":"Michael","date":"December 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One of our justifications for our expat lifestyle, especially living in Europe, is that we can easily travel to so many other interesting places. \u00a0Reality, however, has not lived up to our expectations; we have not traveled near as much as we had hoped to. \u00a0(See some of our travels\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Places"","block_context":{"text":"Places","link":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/category\/places\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/HillTown-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":442,"url":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/2011\/12\/10\/st-mikulas-night-in-prague\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":4},"title":"St. Mikulas Night in Prague","author":"Michael","date":"December 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"As older expats with all of our family back in the US we miss sharing Christmas\u00a0with children. \u00a0So when ever we can we join in the family fun where ever we are\u00a0living. \u00a0We are still young at heart after all. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 In Prague and many other parts of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/OldTownAngel-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3788,"url":"https:\/\/parosparadise.com\/CzechMates\/2015\/12\/20\/dresden-christmas-charm\/","url_meta":{"origin":150,"position":5},"title":"Dresden: Christmas Charm","author":"Michael","date":"December 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow, we were impressed with Dresden, its Christmas markets and its people. \u00a0Of course it doesn't have the beauty and charm of Prague but we found the people exceptionally friendly and the markets were clean and very charmingly decorated and seemed to offer better products and food. 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